Striking-clock.



No. 783,713. PATBNTED FEB. 28, 1905.

W. P. WALTER.

STRIKING OLQGK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses; Invenmn WiHFW Iter.

Artur EH PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905.

W. P. WALTER.

STRIKING CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..10, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A UNITED STATES Patented February 28, 1905.

WILL P. WALTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STRlKlNG-CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,718, dated February 28, 1905.

Application filed March 10, 1902. Serial No. 97.502.

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Be it known that I, WILL PJV ALTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Striking-Clocks, (Case No. 1,) of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to clocks which are adapted to strike or ring a gong at certain specified intervals or under certain conditions.

The object of my invention is to provide a form of clock by which any desired striking can be brought about at any desired periods during the dayand to accomplish this result in a simple, practical, and effective manner.

The clock which I will herein show and describe is an angelusclockthat is to say, it is adapted to strike three times each day-at six in the morning, six at night, and twelve at noonand at each of these periods to make four sets of strokes, the first three of which are three strokes each and the last one thirtythree strokes. It will be understood, however, that the principles of construction and operation embodied in this clock are capable of use for clocks for accomplishing other purposes, and hence I do not desire to limit my invention to an angelus-clock.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the works of a clock embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the mechanism of said works. Fig. 41 is aview of the upper portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow in said figure. Fig. 5 is a view of a modified form of a portion of the mechanism.

In the drawings I have shown the works of a clock arranged between front and rear framepieces A and B, respectively. The time mechanism that is, the mechanism by which the hour and minute hands are properly rotated is not shown, as the same forms no part of my present invention. I have, however, shown two tubular spindles 1 and 2, Fig. 2, which are the spindles for rotating the hour and minute hands, respectively. Any form of time mechanism can be understood as being employed for this purpose. The portion of the clock in which my invention lies is the striking mechanism, and this has been shown in detail.

As stated, the clock herein set forth is intended to make three successive sets of three strokes each and then thirty-three strokes immediately following at six in the morning, twelve at noon, and six at night. To such end the striking mechanism comprises a gong 3 and a striking-hammer 4:, carried by a pivot 5, Fig-I3, mounted in the frame-pieces A and B. The pivot or shaft 5 has a lateral projection 6, which extends toward and is arranged at the inside of the outer portion of a gearwheel 7. This gear-wheel 7 is provided with pins 8 8, which are arranged as shown in Fig. 3-that is, three sets of three each and one set of thirty-three. These pins 8 are located so that as the wheel 7 revolves the pins will suc cessively strike the lateral projection 6 of the striker arm or hammer 1, and thus actuate the latter. The gear-wheel 7, containing the pins 8 8, thus becomes the count-wheel, and the striker-arm is actuated directly by such count-wheel. It is obvious that each time the wheel 7 revolves the striker 4: will be actuated so as to strike the forty-two strokes in the manner mentioned.

The gear-wheel 7 is provided with a slot 9 and an arm or red 10, having a laterally-extending blade 11 at itslower end, and is mounted upon a pivot or shaft 12, supported by the frame-pieces A and B in such a way that the blade 11 can descend into the spaces between the gear-teeth and out of the same and also into and out of the slot 9. By the blade 11. dropping into the slot 9 the wheel 7 is locked against rotation, and this is the normal condition of the device. The pivot or shaft 12 is also provided with arms 13 and let, Figs. 3 and A, whereof the arm '13 has its lower end bent at 15, so as to engage a pin 16, Fig. 1, on a gear-wheel 17 on a shaft 18, Figs. 1 and The arm 1 1 has its inner end bent at 19. At one side of the shaft 12 is a pivotal shaft 20, carrying three arms 21, 22, and 23, whereof the arm 21 has its end bent at 21, so as to extend under the arm 10. The arm 22 has its l ever, by the passing of the pin 28 or the pins outer end bent up at 24, so that it can be struck by the pin 16 on the gear-wheel 17. The arm 23 extends downwardly and its lower end is located at one side of a gear-wheel 25 on a shaft 26. The gear-wheel 25 is geared with a pinion 27 on the hour-spindle 1 and is provided with three pins 28 29 30, whereof the pins 28 and 30 are opposite one another and the pin 29 midway between them. The gear-wheel 25 is of twice the diameterof the gear-wheel 27, as a result of which it is obvious that the gear 25 will rotate once every twenty-four hours, and as it rotates the pins 28, 29, and 30 will strike against and actuate the arm 23-the pin 30 at six in the morning, the pin 29 at noon, and the pin 28 at six in the evening.

The count-wheel 7 is mounted loosely upon a shaft 31, which carries a spring 32 for operating the striking mechanism. This shaft 31 is also provided with a fixedly-secured gear 33, which meshes with a pinion 34, mounted on a shaft 35, and the latter shaft is provided with-another pinion, 36, which meshes with the gear-teeth of the count-wheel 7, Fig. 1. The shaft 35 is also provided with a gearwheel 37, which meshes with a pinion 38 on a shaft 39, and this shaft 39 is provided with a gear 40, which meshes with a pinion 41 on the shaft 18. The gear-wheel 16, hereinbefore referred to, gears with a pinion 42 on the shaft 43, carrying a fan 44. The shaft 39 is provided with a disk 45, which is eonstructed with two notches 46 46, Fig. 3, and these notches 46 46 are adapted to receive the bent end 19 of the arm 14 on the shaft 12.

In Fig. 3 the gear-wheel 17, carrying the pin 16, is not shown; but the path of travel of the pin 16 is indicated in dotted lines.

The mechanism thus described operates as follows: hen the clock is in its normal condition, the swinging arm 10 has its blade 11 in engagement with the slot 9 of the gear and count-wheel 7, whereby the arm 13 is sufficiently lowered to cause the engagement of the bent end 15 thereof with the pin 16, thus locking the striking mechanism. As the time mechanism rotates the hour-spindle 1, this in turn rotates the gear 27, which drives the gear 25 and brings the pins 28, 29, and 30 successively into contact with the swinging arm 23 at the periods above stated. The actuation of the arm 23 by these pins causes the arm 21 to lift the arm 10, and thereby withdraw the blade 11 out of the slot 9 in the wheel 7 and at the same time lift the arm 13, so as to cause the disengagement of its end 15 from the pin 16. Immediately on the lifting of the arm 13 the .pin 16 on the gear 17 becomes disengaged,

thereby allowing this gear to be rotated by the spring 32 and intermediate gearing. half a revolution it strikes against the upturned end 24 of the 29 or 30, as the case may be, from below it, the arm 22 is suflieiently lowered to cause its end 24 to drop from in front of the pin 16, whereupon the gear 17 is allowed to resume its rotation, which it does. At approximately the same time the wheel 7 also begins to rotate, thereby causing the pins 8 8 to strike the end of the projection 6 and cause the actuation of the striker-arm 4 to strike the gong 3 the number of strokes mentioned. During the revolution of the wheel 7 the blade 11 of the arm 10 rises and falls among the gearteeth on said wheel by the action of the disk 45, whose notches 46 46 allow the end 19 of the arm 14 to descend and whose inclines, forming the sides of said notches, cause the arm 14 to rise, it being understood that the disk rotates half a revolution while the gear 7 rotates the distance equal to the width of one of its teeth. At each lowering of the blade 11, however, this blade strikes the bottom of the teeth, and so is prevented from descending an extent to allow the end 15 of the arm 13 to engage the pin 16. \Vhen the revolution of the wheel 7is complete, however, and the blade 17 descends into the slot 9, the arm 13 is allowed to descend such an extent, whereupon the pin 16 is engaged and the operation of the striking mechanism terminated. \Vhen another one of the pins 28 29 30 actuates the arm 23, the operation is the same as before, causing the bell to be struck forty-two times in the manner mentioned.

In Fig. 5 l have illustrated a modilied form of count-wheel 7, which is understood to be provided with gear-teeth, just as the wheel 7 is, but which instead of being provided with pins 8 8 is constructed with teeth 48 48, which are adapted to strike the projection 6, and thereby actuate the striker.

It will be understood that my invention can be employed for other purposes than in an angelus-clock. For instance, any other number of strokes can be given at any other time or times of day, it being obvious that the invention permits this number to be employed in any way. Again, the striking mechanism by which the striking is accomplished directly from the count-wheel can be employed in any form of striking-clock, whether having the twenty-four-hour arrangement of the clock herein shown or not.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of the striker 4 having a lateral arm 6, a count-wheel 7 having pins 8, 8, an arm 10 having a bent end 11 adapted to lit in a slot 9 in the count-wheel 7, a spindle 12 on which the arm 10 is mounted, said spindle also carrying arms 13 and 14 having bent ends 15 and 19 respectively, a wheel 17 hav- After 1 ing a pin 16 adapted to engage the bent end 15 of the arm 13, a spindle 20 provided with arm 22, by which it is arms 21, 22 and 23, whereof the arm 21 has a stopped. When the arm 23 is lowered, howl bent end 21' arranged under the arm 10, and 3 the arm 22 has an upturned end 24 adapted to engage the pin 16, a wheel 45 having peripheral recesses 46, 46, for the bent end 19 of the arm 14, and a twenty-four-hour wheel 25 provided with pins 28, 29 and 30 adapted to strike against the arm 23, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a wheel driven by the time mechanism, of a count-wheel provided with projections, a striker adapted to be actuated by said projections on the countwheel, the count-wheel being also provided with a slot 9, a controlling-train containing a wheel 45 having peripheral recesses 46, 46 and containing also a wheel 17 having a pin 16, a spindle 12 having an arm 10 adapted to engage the slot 9 and count-wheel and also having arms 13 and 14 whereof the arm 13 is adapted to engage the pin 16 on the wheel 17 and the arm 14 is adapted to cooperate with the recesses 46, 46 in the wheel 45 to elevate and lower the arm 10, a spindle 20 provided with arms 21, 22 and 23 whereof the arm 21 is adapted to actuate the arm 10, and the arm 22 is adapted to engage the pin 16, and means on the time-driven wheel for actuating the arm 23, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of March, A. D. 1902.

. WILL P. WALTER.

WVitnesses:

A. MILLER BELFIELD, I. C. LEE. 

